Pretty big news. The Trader Joe's just received a permit and Borderstan reports the building is supposed to be finished in December 2013 so TJ's would open after that.

The timeline for the Harris Teeter is fuzzier, especially since the redevelopment of that building hasn't even started and they still need to buy some property, but apparently have a commitment from Harris Teeter. The Louis building, on the other hand, is going up as we speak.

The Louis project sounds impressive: it's going to be big at 42,000 square feet of retail and 125 fancy residential units, including a rooftop pool, though it will be maintaining some of the existing facades.

They also have the weirdest ad campaign I've seen: it's some kind of candy-colored futuristic Black Eyed Peas meets King Louis XIV thing, or something, complete with pink dogs. It annoys me for some reason: